In a major blow to the Andhra Pradesh government, the Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) on Monday night issued orders rejecting the plea of AP Genco to cancel the power purchase agreements (PPAs) that are pending before the commission.

The ERC gave a 34-page judgment on the power dispute between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and declared PPAs pending for approval are valid. This is a clear jolt to the AP government which has been firm on the cancellation of the PPAs to get more power in the wake of the severe power shortage in the state.

The ERC in its order pointed that AP Genco did not give prior notice to Discoms about the cancellation of PPAs and also stated that the decision to cancel the PPAs does not hold water under the Electricity Reforms Act 1998 and the National Electricity Act 2003.